LEXINGTON, Ky. — The David of college basketball is here — here and fearless.
Davidson does not see the No. 14 seed in front of its name and No. 3 in front of Marquette on its NCAA Tournament bracket line.
It sees opportunity knocking because it has knocked before and Davidson has answered.
As remarkable as the Final Four runs by VCU and George Mason have been in recent years, as astounding as Butler’s back-to-back Final Four appearances were, those schools are Goliath compared with David-son.
This team from the tiny, private, liberal arts college in North Carolina — enrollment 1,756, no graduate programs but laundry service included in your tuition — is led by the Irish Catholic son of a New York City cop that is one of the most respected coaches in college basketball.
“Very, very well coached,’’ said Marquette coach Buzz Williams. “Coach [Bob] McKillop had turned down BCS jobs throughout his career at Davidson. I’ve enjoyed studying them, watching how they play.’’
Davidson plays the way basketball has been coached in the CHSAA for decades, the way McKillop learned as a varsity player at Chaminade and at pickup games every weekend at Archbishop Molloy.
The Wildcats (26-7) lead the nation in free throw shooting, are 27th in assists/turnover margin, start three seniors and two juniors and are riding the nation’s longest win streak at 17 games.
Marquette (23-8) shared the Big East regular-season title with Georgetown and Louisville. The Golden Eagles are bigger and deeper, but forget the slingshot, Davidson has its shot.
“I think last year they were relieved to be in the tournament,’’ said McKillop. “I think this year they’re excited to be in the tournament.’’
This team saw NCAA Tournament excitement — Davidson style — in 2008 when the Wildcats upset Gonzaga and Georgetown on their way to the Elite Eight.
“Getting that sort of recognition and having that sort of success, definitely played a big part for me personally,’’ senior Nik Cochran said.
Three years after McKillop arrived at Davidson in 1989, the Wildcats have known success. McKillop dreamed of getting the St John’s job earlier in his career. He dreamed of the big time.
But a marriage was made at Davidson and now it can’t be broken.
“It’s a darn good fit,’’ McKillop said. “It’s a two-way street.’’
The road for McKillop (452-278) can be traced to Jack Curran, the legendary Archbishop Molloy coach who was buried yesterday. McKillop tried out for one of the five scholarship spots CHSAA schools awarded in 1962. He didn’t get one (Miami coach Jim Larranaga did).
But Curran took note of the smart, scrappy, sound player. Four years later, after McKillop had starred at Chaminade and hooped on weekends with Kevin Joyce at Molloy, Curran asked McKillop his college plans.
McKillop said he was going to try to walk on at Siena. Curran made one phone call. McKillop had a plane ticket and a scholarship to East Carolina.
“My eyes just flew out of my head,’’ McKillop said.
“To this day, before — up until he passed away, I would speak to him once every month, once every two months, visit him anytime I had an opportunity to in New York. He was a very special coach and even a more special man.’’
So is the coach at Davidson.